Blue Eyes
by Passionate Cec
Summary: James meets little Ashley for the first time after she was born and has a heart-to-heart talk with Helen.


I'm back from vacation and thought I should post a story. I've been meaning to post this story for a while, so here it is.

I've always thought Helen and James' friendship was something quite amazing and I couldn't pass the chance to write this, especially when the idea set itself in my head and wouldn't leave. My muse does that : either she's gone (like right now) or she juts keeps giving me ideas until I just write the blasted story already!

I know it's been done a few times before so I hope I have managed to make a difference. And I especially hope you like it.

Sanctuary, Helen Magnus, Ashley Magnus and James Watson still don't belong to me. Damian Kindler writes them so much better than me so I'll just let him make me happy every Saturday. (Why, oh why, do I live on the wrong side of the ocean? D'=) I don't make any money with this story. Its sole purpose is entertainment. No copyright infringement intended.

Shutting up now.

Enjoy. =)

**Blue ****Eyes**

Dr. James Watson was walking through the halls of the Sanctuary faster than he had ever before. He had come as soon as he had received the news and the long journey had been enough to send him into full panic mode. Even though he knew that was unnecessary.

He came to a sudden stop in front of a door and knocked gently, the softness of the gesture contrasting with his hurried pace and the fast beat of his heart. He heard a soft 'come' from the other side of the wooden door and slowly opened it, slipping inside the room and closing the door behind him. He smiled at the woman sitting in the bed. She looked tired and slightly worn off but happy nonetheless. She was sitting on her bed, leaning back against the pillows, sheets pulled up to her waist and was wearing a white robe and holding a small bundle of white blanket which he knew for a fact held the most precious gift life could offer her.

'Helen. I am sorry. I know I said I would be here but I did not expect the baby to be here ten days early. I should have planned my arrival earlier.' The words rushed out of his mouth in one breath as he approached the bed.

'It's quite alright, James. No one could have known.'

'I should have. Since when are Magnuses known for their patience?' He teased, leaning down to kiss Helen's cheek and softly caress the day-hold baby's soft forehead. Helen laughed.

'That's true.'

'So, how are you feeling, my dear?' James asked as he sat down on the side of the bed, facing his long time friend.

'Good. A little tired and sore, but that will pass quickly. And it's nothing compared to the happiness of finally having her with me.' She answered.

She looked down at the child in her arms with a warmth he had never seen in her eyes before. The love, devotion and utter admiration she already felt for her little miracle was impressive and Watson knew, despite his initial doubts, she had made the right choice when she decided to carry her child to term and bring it into the world a century after it had been conceived by its parents.

'Her?' He repeated, a sweet smile tugging at his lips. She grinned back, a happy twinkle shinning in her eyes. 'So it's a girl.'

'Yes. Ashley Patricia Magnus.'

'After your mother.'

She nodded and again looked down as Ashley squirmed a bit. One of her arms managed to get out of under the blanket and she threw a tiny fist in the air. James smiled at that sight and watched as Helen softly caressed the skin of the agitated little hand. She gently maneuvered it back under the warm blanket, against the protest of her daughter. And he could already see how that one gesture would illustrate these two women's lives. Helen would try to protect her daughter, giving her just barely enough freedom to fight her own battles and little Ashley would fight back harder against her mother's protectiveness to get her independence, no matter how unreasonable. The doctor watched the baby squirm some more, the pale skin of her face scrunching up a little bit and soothing back down under the gentle touch of Helen's finger.

'She has John's eyes.' Helen revealed once Ashley had calmed down.

'With John and you as her parents, she can only have blue eyes.' He agreed.

'No, I mean she has exactly the same eyes as John.' She explained, emphasizing the resemblance. 'The first time she opened them and looked up I thought I was looking at him. They are exactly the same color, the same shape. It's impressive how identical they are.'

'How does that make you feel?' She turned her own blue eyes to look at him and he could see she hadn't really thought about that yet; she had only noticed a fact.

'Relieved, I suppose.' Now, that was a surprise.

'How so?'

'I've always loved John's eyes. They were one of the first features I fell in love with. And no matter how much pain he caused and how much he hurt me, or how much I hate him, he is the love of my life. And I know this child was created from love and John is her father, whether he deserves that title or not, so I suppose I am relieved to know that there is part of her that I will always recognize as undeniably his. It's good to know that it is that one feature that my daughter has from her father.'

'You're not feeling any resentment.'

He had phrased it as an affirmation, but there was a hint of a question. Because James had personally seen the pain John had caused Helen, and he was having a slightly hard time believing that she could just forget that. Helen smiled gently.

'I can't raise my daughter thinking only of what I hate about her father. It will destroy us. The only way I will be able to love her the way she deserves is to remember the John I fell in love with. The man who had so many qualities and who, I know, loved me unconditionally. The one who was your best friend.'

She added knowing James had been as hurt as a friend as she had been as a lover and that he needed reminding that John and he had once been best friends.

'If I hadn't fallen in love with John, Ashley wouldn't be here today. No matter how or when she came to life, she is indeed John's child and that, in itself reminds me that he wasn't only Jack the Ripper. I'll hang on to that knowledge because I know if John had had a choice, he would have loved Ashley as much as I love her.'

James blinked a few times and shook his head, smiling at how characteristic of Helen Magnus this behavior was. But for once, he wasn't going to call her up on her endless optimism. He knew she would need it and he wouldn't take it away from her before she had even started the hard task of being the mother of Jack the Ripper's child. That single fact – being the mother of the most famous serial killers of all times, a hundred years after he had stricken – had to be the heaviest burden to ever fall on a woman's shoulders. It didn't matter that she claimed she would only remember the good times with John, he knew that, behind closed doors, she would still be haunted by who he had become due to their – her – experiment with the source blood.

'You amaze me Helen.' He told her. She grinned but threw him a questioning look. 'No woman – no person – I have ever known could ever be as brave as you. And don't get me started on why you are brave because we will still be there in the morning if we get into that.' She laughed.

'Don't you think you're giving me a little too much credit?'

'Never with you, my dear.'

'Ah, James, you and I have both lived far too long for those lines.'

'Not when they're true.'

'Again.'

Helen smiled teasingly as her daughter started to squirm again, clearly unhappy. This time Ashley managed to free both her arms and showed her dissatisfaction, adding the necessary crying. Helen's attention turned completely to her baby. She gently tried to soothe her, and when that didn't work, she looked up at James.

'I think the little lady is hungry.' She explained.

She was hoping he would understand. It took him a few instants but he did. And immediately blushed and looked uncomfortable. She knew he would be shuffling his feet were he standing. _Why is it that, at any age, men are uncomfortable when breast feeding is mentioned?_ She wondered. James slowly stood up and caressed Ashley's face once, leaning down to kiss her scrunched up forehead, trying to avoid getting punched by one of the tiny fists she was energetically waving around in an effort to catch any attention she wouldn't already have. His friend laughed a bit at the comical scene. He mock glared at her before kissing Helen's cheek and forehead, as he had done so many times in the past century, lips lingering a little bit against her soft, warm skin.

'I'll come see you a little later again, then. Try to get some rest.' He advised.

He turned away from the bed to walk out, only looking back once to see Helen completely engrossed in the screaming little miracle in her arms.

* * *

A.N : Helen might seem a bit OOC but my opinion is that she just had her baby, the child she has kept frozen for a hundred years so she just can't possibly be bitter at a moment like that. I can't see any woman being angry or feeling hatred when they're holding their freshly born baby. Then, there is also the fact that, no matter what, Amanda Tapping has said it, John is the love of Helen's life and she will never forget that part of him, especially, when she is first looking at the little girl they conceived together.

Anyway, don't forget to leave me your opinion. Little blue link is waiting for you to click it. And so am I. =D


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